Bumper Pad Recycling Project

Back when I was pregnant with Little Guy, I found an adorable crib bedding set on eBay (gently used) which I purchased for a great low price. It was a brightly colored farm themed set, and it fit perfectly with the design idea I had in my head. It was also pretty gender neutral, which was important to us as we knew we wanted more children, and didn't feel we should need to buy a different bedding set for each child.

This particular set included a crib skirt, quilt, bumper pad, mobile and decorative pillow shaped like a barn. We used everything except the bumper pad in LG's nursery. I know that many people have used them successfully, but having read a few horror stories – we chose to stash our bumper pad in storage. I knew that someday I’d think of something I could do with it.

As we recently began to get the nursery ready for Baby Boy, I came across the bumper pad again. Though we are reusing the bedding and décor from when this was LG’s room, we also wanted to give it a little different look. I had one corner that didn’t really have any wall hangings, and I decided to do something with the bumper pad to rectify that.

When LG got his bunk bed last month, we removed a few framed prints and a wooden shelf from his wall. They no longer fit with the much taller bed in place. I used those three frames and the shelf as the foundation for my new idea.



supplies at a glance

I carefully removed the fabric from the tube of bumper pad batting, and then cut out the shapes of a pig, a lamb and a chicken. I also cut out several of the gingham flowers. Using some of the reverse side of the bumper’s fabric, I made a background for each of the framed pics, then collaged the cut out images on top. The end result is fairly festive and adds another tie-in with the rest of the room’s look.

Ready to hang

Oh, and other than a half hour of my time….this cost nothing. (My very favorite type of project). Also, I’m going to use some of the bumper pad batting to create a bolster pillow for Little Guy. His new bunk bed is placed near the wall, but the design of the bed allows for a gap between his mattress and the wall. For some reason he gravitates to that space while asleep. I’m hoping that this new long pillow (which I’ll cover with some Thomas the Train fabric from my stash) will give him a more comfortable night’s sleep.

End result!  The little stuffed critters on the shelf were rattles that we had when LG was a baby, but never really used.  They made a nice addition, I think.